Love, Loyalty and Loss
by Austin-Keith
Summary: A traumatizing incident scars Takato, and sends him spiraling into depression. Deserted by Rika and Ryo, only Henry and Renamon remain to comfort him. When the other tamers leave, can Takato muster the courage to protect the city?


6 months ago, the Digimon Tamers defeated the D-Reaper. 3 months ago, their Digimon partners returned to them, having been taken away after the D-Reaper's demise. Now, Takato is visiting Guilmon's cave in the park for a little fun time with his buddy. The two have decided to play tag, and are running crazily around the park.

A boy wearing a lot of black, accompanied by a BlackGabumon, appeared in the park around the same time. He made his way towards Guilmon's cave, eventually catching sight of Takato and Guilmon. "BlackGabumon, attack!" the boy ordered, pointing at the tamer and his Digimon. BlackGabumon sprung into action, headed straight for Guilmon. "Petit Fire!" it exclaimed, launching an attack at the red dino Digimon.

Guilmon saw the attack, and dodged it at the last second. "I don't know what this punk wants, but he's getting a butt whooping!" Takato exclaimed. Guilmon dashed into battle, fighting against the BlackGabumon. However, the Digimon proved too much for Guilmon, so Takato reached for his cards in order to help out. Suddenly, the wind gusted up, and Takato's cards were strewn all over the place. "No!" he exclaimed. He began frantically picking up as many cards as he could.

The boy in control of BlackGabumon laughed, and continued to watch Guilmon get pummeled. "Takatomon, do something!" Guilmon exclaimed. Takato knew that if Guilmon took much more damage, he'd get deleted. Frantically picking up cards as fast as possible, Takato's mind searched for a strategy to defeat the seemingly evil Digimon.

Suddenly, a shower of shards hit BlackGabumon, damaging him severely. BlackGabumon and the boy looked in the direction the attack came from, but saw nothing there. It was as if the shards came out of nowhere. The same could be said for the foot that slammed into the back of BlackGabumon's head a moment later. As BlackGabumon's data disappeared into the heavens, Renamon knelt over what was left of his body. "Never mess with my friends if you want to live." she said coolly. With that, the last of the data disappeared.

Takato took his focus off Renamon, and was frustrated to see that the boy had gotten away. 'It's not like he was a threat anymore anyway…' Takato thought. He then hurried over to Guilmon's side. He was met there by Renamon, who examined the damage to Guilmon. "He'll heal, but he needs to stay in his cave and rest for a good two weeks." she remarked. Takato wrapped his arms around Guilmon's neck, and started to cry. "I'm sorry Guilmon, I… I let you down…" he said. Guilmon opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a certain red-head shouting "Hey goggle-head!"

Takato, still in tears, turned around to see Rika standing between Henry and Ryo. "That was really pathetic Takato; I can't believe you're supposedly our leader." Rika said sharply. "Hey, better him than me." Henry said, trying to defend his friend. Rika just glared at Henry. "You know what, I propose we make Ryo the leader; he'd never lose like that!" Rika added. Ryo almost fell over in surprise.

"All in favor of making Ryo the leader?" Rika said. Before anyone could respond to the statement, Takato spoke up. "You know what; just make him the leader! I don't care! Guilmon almost got deleted because of me; I'm not fit to be a leader!" he said. "Hmph, pathetic! Come on guys. Renamon, let's go!" Rika said. Rika started leading the other tamers out of the park, forcing Renamon to leave. As she stepped out of the park, Renamon looked back at Takato, who was tending to Guilmon. "I'm sorry…" she said under her breath. Then she walked away with Rika.

**6 Years Later** (Characters are now 16)

Things changed for the tamers over the years. Stricken with guilt from the incident, Takato grew depressed. He wore dark clothing, and didn't go out much. Guilmon had healed up nicely, but Takato never subjected him to battle again. Henry still liked Takato despite Rika's influence, and visited him occasionally. Takato enjoyed these visits, but there was one thing he looked forward to more than anything else: seeing Renamon.

The vixen Digimon had stayed close to Takato over the years, and whenever Rika went out of town she'd visit the depressed tamer and stay with him for a few days. Takato enjoyed these visits; Renamon was the only girl, other than Takato's own mother, who still cared for him. She'd play cards with him, go with him to visit Guilmon, and she was even teaching him Tai Chi. Over time, Takato realized that he really liked Renamon. She was nice, caring, protective, and they shared a lot of interests.

Unfortunately, Rika hadn't been traveling much lately, and Renamon had had few opportunities to see Takato. In the months leading to summer, Takato would bide his time by drawing sketches of himself and Renamon in various scenes. They were always smiling, and having a good time. After a while, he started coloring some of the old ones in with colored pencils. He found one drawing so special that he spent hours coloring it on Photoshop until it was just perfect.

Finally, June came. One afternoon as he was sketching, a shadow suddenly fell over him. Takato dropped his pencil, closed his sketchbook, and turned around in his swivel chair. Standing in front of him was Renamon. "So, how long are you here this time Renamon?" he asked, his voice much lower than it was 6 years earlier. "Two weeks." she answered. Takato was pleasantly surprised; this would be one of her longest visits to date. "Where's Rika off to this time?" Takato inquired. "A big tournament; Ryo and Henry are going too." Renamon replied, glancing behind Takato at his sketchbook.

"What have you been doing Takato?" she asked suspiciously. Takato contemplated showing her his sketches, because he knew he'd probably end up revealing his feelings too. He decided that it was probably for the best if she knew, so he reached back and grabbed the book. "I've been drawing these sketches." he said, opening it.

He showed Renamon all his sketches, which she looked at in awe and amazement. "Takato… I had no idea you were such a skilled artist…" she remarked. It was then that Takato remembered his greatest work. "Come here Renamon, there's one more I want you to see." he said. He led her over to his computer, where he'd spent those countless hours working in Photoshop. "This one's my personal favorite, I put hours of work into it." he said. He navigated to the picture's file, and brought it onscreen. Renamon was speechless.

The picture was a breathtaking scene. Takato and Renamon laid next to each other on a smooth sandy beach, the waves rolling in quietly below them. Off in the distance you could see a pier with an amusement park on it, and a beautiful sunset at the end. The detail was truly awe inspring, but one thing stood out from everything else. Renamon could see that Takato had spent a lot of time drawing her; the detail on her body was impeccable, and the fur color was a perfect match.

"Takato… it's amazing…" Renamon finally said. "I'm glad you like it." Takato said, smiling warmly. He decided now was a good time to reveal his feelings. "Renamon, I re-" he started. He looked at the screen again, at the results of his efforts to make Renamon look perfect. "What?" she asked. "Renamon… I love you." Takato said. Surprisingly, Renamon wasn't the least bit shocked. "I love you too Takato." she replied, embracing Takato.

The two lovers looked into each other's eyes happily. Then they closed them, and the gap between their bodies. Takato and Renamon's lips met in a passionate kiss. The two new lovers stayed that way for a few seconds before separating. Takato glanced at the clock on his computer, and then looked back at Renamon. "It's getting late, how about we go get some dinner?" he asked. "That sounds great Takato." Renamon answered.

Takato took Renamon to a nice restaurant that served food from all over Asia. They were seated at a table next to a window, and given menus. The waiter first got them drinks, and then asked for their orders. "I'll have the Sweet and Sour Chicken on white rice." Takato said. "And for you miss?" the waiter asked. "I'll have the honey chicken, also on white rice." Renamon said. The waiter nodded, wrote down the order, and then headed off towards the kitchen.

"So Takato, you like sweet and sour chicken?" Renamon asked. "Yeah, it's a delicious dish. You know, now that I think about it, sweet and sour sounds kind of like your personality!" Takato said, chuckling. The move was corny, but sweet. "I have to admit, you're right about that." Renamon said, "And now that I think about it, honey sounds like your personality." "I have a tasty personality?" Takato asked, confused. "Not tasty, sweet." Renamon answered. Takato blushed. "Thanks Renamon." he said.

The waiter brought their dishes out a few minutes later, and the two began to eat. Within twenty minutes they were leaving the restaurant. As they began to walk home, Takato's D-Power went off. When he looked at it, his worst fears were realized. A wild Digimon was bioemerging into the real world, and none of the other tamers were around to stop it. Takato just stared at the digivice, unmoving. "Takato, you have to fight it!" Renamon said. "I can't, not after the last battle with Guilmon…" Takato replied. "Takato, get a hold of yourself! You and Guilmon helped us beat the D-Reaper, and Guilmon survived that! Guilmon trusts you; you just need to trust yourself!" Renamon exclaimed.

Renamon's words hit Takato hard, and he finally realized what a coward he was being. His true courage finally shone through as he turned to Renamon and said "Let's get moving!" "That's what I'm talking about!" Renamon said before teleporting them to Guilmon's cave. "Guilmon, let's go!" Takato shouted into the cave. Guilmon came running out, and ran with Takato and Renamon to where the wild Digimon was bioemerging.

As they arrived, they saw that that the wild Digimon was, strangely, a BlackWarGreymon. "Let's do this Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed, "Biomerge Digivolution!" "Guilmon biormerge to-!" Guilmon exclaimed. Guilmon and Takato then biomerged and Digivolved to achieve Mega level. "-Gallantmon!" Gallantmon finished. The scene then returned to the fight. "Let's do this!" Gallantmon said.

(Cue "Run Around" song ending by Jason Radford)

BlackWarGreymon flew at Gallantmon and fired a Terra Force at him. Gallantmon raised his shield and deflected the attack right back at the attacker, dealing heavy damage. Gallantmon didn't stop there; he charged at BlackWarGreymon, lance at the ready. "Lightning Joust!" Gallantmon exclaimed. The Gram Lance started shooting out lightning, and then Gallantmon stabbed it into BlackWarGreymon with tremendous force. BlackWarGreymon disintegrated into data immediately.

(end song)

Gallantmon absorbed BlackWarGreymon's data, and then DeDigivolved back to Takato and Guilmon. Renamon ran up to Takato and hugged him tightly. "Nice job Takato, you did it!" she exclaimed. Takato blushed. "Yeah, we did do it, didn't we Guilmon?" he said. Guilmon smiled. "Yeah!" he exclaimed. Takato hugged Renamon, happy that he was finally back to his old self again. "Let's celebrate; ice cream on me!" Takato said happily.

Fifteen minutes later, Takato, Renamon and Guilmon sat outside an ice cream parlor, eating ice cream. "Thanks for the ice cream Takatomon." Guilmon said. "No problem Guilmon." Takato replied, chuckling. As he continued to eat his ice cream, Takato looked up at the sky. 'These two weeks with Renamon are going to be great.' he thought. Takato was never more right in his entire life.

**2 Weeks Later**

Rika finally came home two weeks later, and Renamon went home. Takato wasn't happy to see her go, but it had to happen. No longer depressed, Takato started playing with Guilmon in the park more often, and sketched more pictures of Renamon and himself. He and Henry started to hang out more too, and things seemed great in his life.

Then, one fateful day, Takato awoke to a thunderstorm. Rain was coming down in buckets, lightning was striking everywhere, and the town seemed to have an eerie air about it. Suddenly, his D-Power went crazy. "This is NOT good." he said to himself. He quickly threw on some clothes, and dashed out the door towards the park.

After getting Guilmon in the park, Takato rushed to the place marked by his D-Power. Arriving at the scene, he found MegaGargomon, Justimon and Sakuyamon already in battle. The Digimon that bioemerged was none other than Beelzemon, and Takato could tell it wasn't the Beelzemon one from 6 years prior. Takato started the Biomerge Digivolution to Gallantmon, but Beelzemon caught sight of them and blasted Guilmon, sending him flying.

"Guilmon!" Takato exclaimed. He ran over to his partner, now severely wounded, and crouched next to him. "Guilmon, are you okay?" he asked. "I'll be fine Takato…" Guilmon said. Takato turned back towards the battle, just in time to see Beelzemon defeat MegaGargomon. The Mega level Digimon DeDigivolved to Henry and Terriermon, leaving Justimon and Sakuyamon on their own.

Beelzemon seemed to like picking his enemies off one at a time, so with MegaGargomon down, he went after who he assumed to be the next biggest threat; Justimon. Justimon was strong, and put up a good fight against Beelzemon, but in the end he lost, DeDigivolving to Ryo and Cyberdramon. Unfortunately, this left Sakuyamon on her own.

Takato watched Sakuyamon as she was attacked by Beelzemon. She was putting up a hell of a fight, but the evil Digimon was still winning. Eventually, Beelzemon landed a crippling blow, and Sakuyamon fell to the ground. "No, RENAMON!" Takato exclaimed. At that moment, his emotions went crazy. Suddenly, his D-Power started shining brighter than a fireworks display. Takato could feel power surging through him as he instinctively shouted "Digimorph activate!" Takato entered a Digivolution-like phase, and his body began to change. He doubled in size, and gained power he'd only ever felt as Gallantmon. He'd become a Mega level Digimon. Ready and willing to stop Beelzemon at all costs, Takato flew into the fray.

Sakuyamon saw her life- or lives- flash before her eyes as Beelzemon moved in for the kill. Suddenly, a deep voice shouted "Hey Beelzemon, why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Both Sakuyamon and Beelzemon turned to see what appeared to be a strong, male version of Sakuyamon floating anxiously. (Cue "here We Go") The newcomer charged Beelzemon. "Emerald Wind!" he cried. A huge mass of blue crystals flew at Beelzemon, dealing heavy damage to the already weakened Digimon.

Beelzemon kept going though, launching an attack at his new opponent. "Talisman Sphere!" the male Sakuyamon exclaimed. A barrier formed around him, which deflected the incoming attack. Not only did Beelzemon get hit by his own attack, but the barrier expanded afterwards and dealt even more damage. "Emerald Mandala!" the male Sakuyamon cried. Beelzemon was immediately surrounded by a golden energy ring, which compressed and finally crushed the mega into data.

(end song)

Sakuyamon DeDigivolved into Rika and Renamon as the male absorbed Beelzemon's data. Once it was finished, the male Sakuyamon DeDigivolved into a male Renamon. It had darker fur than Rika's Renamon, its markings were blue, and it wore a blue sleeveless vest. It stared into the glass window of a nearby building and sighed. "I knew this would happen…" it said to itself in a melancholy tone. Meanwhile, the three tamers and their Digimon walked over to it, as did Guilmon.

As the tamers and their Digimon approached, the male Renamon turned to face them. Eventually they all stood within a few feet of each other. "Thanks for saving us; that was amazing!" Renamon remarked. Rika seemed less enthusiastic. "I have to admit, that was pretty good. Don't think that means you're stronger than me though." she said. The male Renamon just shook his head subtly, chuckling quietly.

"So, who are you, and where'd you come from?" Ryo asked. "Has anyone seen Takato?" Henry cut in, a worried look on his face. Renamon, who had been looking eye to eye with the male the whole time, finally figured it out. When Henry asked his question, she giggled, which weirded everyone out. "Renamon, what's so funny?" Rika asked. "T-That is Takato!" she said, still laughing. "Takato?" Henry asked. "Yeah, it's me." Takato said, chuckling.

"Takatomon!" Guilmon exclaimed, running up to Takato. "Hey there buddy." Takato said, chuckling and hugging his buddy. "You know, Guilmon's right; you really are Takatomon." Renamon remarked. "Yeah, I guess I am." Takato said, chuckling. "Anyway, we all ought to get home; it's getting late." Henry remarked. Takato's eyes went wide as he was hit with a new realization. "Shit, what am I gonna tell my parents?" he exclaimed.

"Crap, that is a problem…" Henry remarked. Renamon stepped forward, coming within a foot of Takato. "Just tell them the truth, your parents should understand love." she said. "Love?" Rika questioned, confused. Takato blushed. "Rika, Takato's my boyfriend." Renamon explained. Rika's jaw dropped in awe, while Ryo and Henry congratulated Takato on his 'catch'. Takato didn't take kindly to their calling Renamon that though.

"Guys, Renamon's not a 'catch', there's more to her than just her looks!" Takato said. The boys didn't hear him though; they were too busy fighting over Rika, the sole remaining girl. Renamon, however, smiled at the words and gave Takato a smooch on the cheek. "Come on, let's go explain things to your parents." she said. Takato smiled and nodded. Grabbing Guilmon's hand, Takato and Renamon combined their powers to teleport home.

Takato, Renamon and Guilmon appeared outside of the Matsuki residence at 6:30, both hungry and nervous. They walked slowly inside, and stopped a few feet short of the doorway to the kitchen. "Mom, Dad, there's something you need to see." Takato said. Mr. and Mrs. Matsuki could hear the nervousness in Takato's voice, and knew something was up. "Alright son, whatever it is, we'll understand." Mrs. Matsuki replied.

Takato turned to Renamon, and gave her an emotional hug. "Good luck Takato." she whispered. "Thanks Renamon." he replied. The two lovers separated, and Takato turned towards the kitchen doorway. He took a deep breath. "Mom, Dad, meet the new me." he said. Then he stepped into the kitchen.

"My God… what happened to you son?" Mr. Matsuki said. "It's a long story, we should sit down." Takato said. His parents could only nod. Takato stepped out of the kitchen and got Renamon and Guilmon, who joined the Matsuki family at the table. "Okay, it all started 6 years ago when Guilmon almost got deleted." Takato started.

With assistance from Renamon and Guilmon, Takato explained to his parents how he fell in love with Renamon after the incident, and how, 6 years later, she encouraged him to fight the wild Digimon. He didn't go into too much detail with the BlackWarGreymon fight, and only said what was needed. Takato then explained how life seemed to go back to normal, that is, until Beelzemon bioemerged.

Takato detailed the fight with Beelzemon as best he could, with Renamon and Guilmon adding their observations. When Takato finally finished, his parents were awestruck to say the least. "Well, that's quite an adventure you had son." Mr. Matsuki started. "You have no idea Dad…" Takato remarked. "Well, I think I speak for your father and myself when I say we're just fine with you and Renamon being together. You love each other, and that's what matters." Mrs. Matsuki said.

"Thanks Mom." Takato said, hugging her. Takato then hugged his father too. Suddenly, a low rumble was heard in the room. "Okay, I swear it wasn't me this time!" Takato exclaimed. "Actually, it was me this time…" Guilmon said, blushing. "I guess I better get some food cooking. Renamon, would you like to stay for dinner?" Mrs. Matsuki asked. "I'd love to Mrs. Matsuki." Renamon replied politely, "I need to let Rika know though." "Alright, Takato can show you where the phone is." Mrs. Matsuki said.

Takato politely led Renamon to the phone, which she used to call Rika's house. After a short phone call, Renamon hung up and turned to Mrs. Matsuki. "Rika's just fine with it. There's a storm coming though, so Rika wants me to stay the night over here if that's okay." she said. "That's just fine dear, there's plenty of room in Takato's bedroom." Mrs. Matsuki said. Takato, who was sitting at the kitchen table, blushed profusely.

Mrs. Matsuki prepared a delicious dinner that had Guilmon and Renamon's mouths watering just looking at it. As they ate dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Matsuki took the opportunity to get to know Renamon better. They found that she and Takato shared a lot of interests, and really seemed to get along. Mr. and Mrs. Matsuki were very happy for both of them.

Dinner eventually drew to a close, and Takato led Renamon and Guilmon up to his room for the night. Guilmon sat himself down on a sleeping bag, laid back on a pillow, and started watching TV. Takato sat down at his desk with Renamon. After adjusting to using a pencil with three fingers, he began to sketch. Takato decided to draw a detailed picture of Renamon, which he was sure she'd like. "Takato, can I sketch something?" Renamon asked.

Takato was surprised when he heard the question; he didn't think Renamon would like drawing. Still, he was happy to find out they shared yet another interest. He grabbed a piece of paper and an expensive pencil, and handed them to Renamon. "Thank you Takato." she said. "No problem Renamon." he replied. Takato then returned to his sketch, and Renamon started hers.

A good half hour later, they finished up their sketches. "Well, let's see it Takato." Renamon said. "Okay, but you have to show me yours at the same time." Takato replied. "Alright." Renamon responded. The two held up their drawings next to each other, and were stunned at what they saw. When held next to each other, the two sketches formed one. Takato had sketched Renamon in a sitting position, leaning back against the edge of the page. Renamon had drawn Takato in the same position, facing the opposite direction, and the two drawings seemed to be looking each other in the eye.

"Woah… that's amazing…" Renamon remarked. "Yeah…" Takato said, "Hey, I have an idea, come over here!" He led Renamon over to his computer, and pulled out a scanner. Takato laid the two sketches next to each other on the glass, and then closed the scanner. Then he turned on the computer, and opened a program. "Okay, I just have to click this… now I just save it and…" Takato said as he scanned the picture. He then brought the newly created pic up on the screen.

"Voila!" Takato exclaimed. The picture on the screen showed the two sketches turned into one. "Wow, that's amazing Takato!" Renamon exclaimed. Takato blushed. "Thanks Renamon." he replied, "Let's open it up in Photoshop and color it." "What's Photoshop?" Renamon asked. "It's a really good art program that you can use on all kinds of pictures." Takato replied while opening it. Renamon watched curiously as Takato used the program's various tools to color in the sketch.

After a good hour, the figures of Takato and Renamon were colored in vividly. "That looks good Takato, but I think it needs a background in the middle." Renamon commented. "Good idea; let me get out my tablet." Takato replied. Takato opened a drawer, pulled out an expensive tablet, and plugged it into his computer. He then explained to Renamon how it worked, and started to draw a background.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Renamon exclaimed suddenly. "Okay, let's see it then." Takato said. He stood up, and let Renamon use the tablet. Renamon sketched a forest, with a beautiful sunset visible over and through the trees. Takato's jaw dropped at the sheer beauty of it. "Wow Renamon… that's… breathtaking…" he remarked. Renamon blushed. "Thanks Takato." she said. She then proceeded to color the background.

The clock struck 11:00 PM as Renamon put the finishing touches on the background. Guilmon was sleeping soundly by now, so Takato had covered him in a warm blanket. "Alright, that looks great Renamon." Takato said, "Let's print out our masterpiece." Renamon nodded, and clicked the print option. Takato loaded some high quality paper into the printer, and told Renamon to select the highest quality setting. Within a minute there was a beautiful picture in Renamon's hands.

"I have the perfect thing for this picture, give me a second!" Takato remarked. Opening a large drawer, he pulled out a beautiful wooden picture frame. "Ooh, that's perfect!" Renamon remarked. Not two minutes later the picture was in the frame, hanging on the wall over Takato's bed. Takato and Renamon stood next to each other, and admired it. Suddenly, Takato let out a loud yawn. "We should probably get to bed." Renamon remarked. Takato just nodded.

Takato laid his vest on the back of his office chair and then turned to get in bed. This allowed Renamon to see his entire body, and she was quite impressed. "You've got some muscle there Takato." she remarked. Takato blushed, not expecting the remark. "Thanks Renamon." he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. Then he climbed into bed. "Where do I sleep?" Renamon asked. "With me of course." Takato replied. "I was hoping you'd say that." Renamon replied cheekily.

Renamon climbed under the sheets next to Takato, and cuddled up to him. Takato wrapped his arms around her, and the two began to kiss. However, this only lasted for a minute or so before they stopped, exhausted. "Good night Renamon." Takato said. "Good night Takato." Renamon replied. The two Digimon then fell asleep in each other's embrace.

Takato awoke unusually his first morning as a Digimon. He wasn't drowsy, and felt well rested. Compared to his usual tiredness, it was a welcome change. He expected Renamon to be awake and up already, but was surprised to find her still cuddled up in his arms. "Good morning Takato." she said, smiling. "Good morning Renamon." he replied, nuzzling the vixen he so loved. The two Renamon laid there for a few minutes, enjoying being with each other.

Finally, Takato grabbed his vest and they headed downstairs. Guilmon was already stuffing his face with bread when they stepped into the kitchen, which got a laugh out of Renamon. Takato's Dad was reading the newspaper as usual, and his mother had breakfast on the table. Takato and Renamon sat down, and ate the delicious breakfast together. Once they finished, they headed to the park with Guilmon.

Rika and the other tamers met them in the park, still excited about Takato's new form. They convinced Takato to battle Renamon in a practice battle so they could see his power. Renamon attacked first, unleashing a Diamond Storm. Takato dodged, and unleashed his own. Renamon skillfully avoided the attack, but was then broadsided by Takato's Power Kick. Before she could retaliate, Takato was blindsided by a blast of ice. He fell to the ground, hurt badly.

The tamers turned to see IceDevimon hovering in the distance. He flew up, and again slashed at Takato. Renamon and the others tried futilely to stop him. Takato began to disappear in a stream of data, bringing Renamon to her knees. Before IceDevimon could absorb the data, Guilmon hit him with a Pyro Sphere so powerful that it knocked the evil Champion onto its back. "I love you… Renamon…" Takato said as the last of his data fluttered away.

"I love you too Takato…" Renamon said. Takato vanished, and Renamon turned to face IceDevimon. In a burst of emotion, she began to Digivolve. "Renamon Warp Digivolve to!" she exclaimed. A bright light surrounded Renamon, the ensuing Digivolution starting. Moments later, it was done. "Sakuyamon!" she exclaimed. Rika, who was still standing between Henry and Ryo, gawked at the sight.

Sakuyamon immediately began beating IceDevimon like never before. The evil Digimon put up a fight though, but it soon hit Sakuyamon's last nerve. "GATE OF DESTINY!" the Mega cried. A golden portal opened behind IceDevimon; the Tamers awestruck at the sight. Sakuyamon began pushing IceDevimon in, but it resisted enough to stay alive. "You killed Takatomon! PYRO BLASTER!" Guilmon exclaimed suddenly, hitting IceDevimon with a massive barrage of flame.

"Woah, that was one of Growlmon's attacks!" Ryo remarked. The three Tamers couldn't believe what they were seeing. The attack blasted IceDevimon into the portal, which Sakuyamon promptly closed. With that, she DeDigivolved back to Renamon, and fell to her knees. Guilmon walked over to her, and hugged her. Then the Tamers saw something they never thought possible: Renamon began to cry. Rika ran over to the two mourning Digimon, and tried to comfort them.

Meanwhile, Henry comforted Terriermon whilst holding back his own tears. Ryo hugged his partner, grateful that he was still alive and well. Eventually they made their way home, doing their best to move on. Rika wasn't sure about Renamon though. The vixen cried herself to sleep that night, memories of Takato flooding her mind.

Tyler Keith, an American living in Japan with his parents, sat alone in his bedroom. He had heard on the news that there was a big battle in the park, and then his friend Rika called to inform him that Takato was dead. The news of his best friend's passing hit Tyler like a freight train. He now laid on his bed, dried tears on his face.

He looked through his deck, which contained a lot of cards that Takato had given him. Memories of his friend flooded into his mind, but Tyler held back his tears. Suddenly, he came upon a blue card. "Odd, I don't remember this one." Tyler said to himself. He picked up his card reader, and swiped the card. His card reader went crazy, and Tyler dropped it in surprise. On the floor, the reader changed shape. Tyler couldn't believe his eyes.

To Tyler's surprise, his card reader changed into a green D-Power with a white ring and buttons. "A… D-Power?" he said, stunned. "It's a wonderful little device; you can't be a tamer without one." came a familiar voice from behind Tyler. Tyler turned to see a male Renamon in a blue vest standing in the middle of his room. "Takato?" Tyler asked. "My name is Renamon thank you very much." the Renamon responded.

Tyler could have sworn the Digimon both looked and sounded like Takato, despite what it said. "My parents will flip if they see you!" Tyler said in a worried tone. "Digimon are well known now, why would your parents be shocked?" the Renamon asked. "They'd be shocked to find out that I'm a tamer." Tyler explained. "Makes sense." the Renamon remarked.

Tyler let out a yawn. "Sounds like you should be getting to bed." the Renamon remarked. "Probably…" Tyler replied. "I mean it; get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning Tyler." the Renamon said. Then it stepped over to the window, and stared outside. Tyler just shrugged, and climbed under his sheets. "This has been one hell of a day…" he thought. With that, he drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Henry, Ryo and their Digimon stood under a tree in the schoolyard. Tyler said he had something big to show them, so they were waiting on him. They were waiting on Rika as well, who was uncharacteristically late. Finally, Tyler was seen in the distance, walking towards them. "Hey, who's that with him?" Henry asked. "I don't know… it looks sort of like… Renamon?" Ryo remarked.

As Tyler walked up, Ryo's observation was confirmed. "Hey guys!" Tyler said, walking up. "Hey Tyler, who's this?" Ryo asked. "My name is Renamon." Tyler's Renamon stated. "Woah, he sounds just like Takato!" Henry remarked. "Yeah... brings back memories…" Tyler added. Henry put a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "We all miss Takato, don't think you're on your own." he said. "Thanks Henry." Tyler replied.

"Hey, Rika's here!" Ryo exclaimed suddenly, seeing the fiery red head in the distance. However, she wasn't so fiery today. Both she and Renamon, who walked beside her, looked downtrodden and depressed. Tyler wasn't sure it was such a good time to rub in the fact that he was now a tamer. Rika and Renamon eventually made it to the tree, where they greeted their friends monotonously. Renamon looked at the newcomer, who stared back in curiosity.

"Strange, he reminds me of… Takato…" Renamon said. The name seemed to trigger something, as suddenly a frame of data left Renamon's body. It floated over to Tyler's Renamon, and was absorbed involuntarily. Seconds afterward, Tyler's Renamon grabbed its head and screamed in pain. "Renamon, are you okay?" Tyler asked worriedly. Tyler's Renamon just kept screaming.

Finally, over a minute after it started, the thrashing stopped. The male Renamon's arms fell limply to its side, and its eyes went blank. Suddenly, its mouth opened. "Loading memory." It said monotonously. Moments later, the Digimon seemed to come to life again. It looked around confusedly. "Okay, I'm lost. One minute I'm disintegrating, and the next I'm standing under a tree. Can somebody please tell me what the hell's going on?" it said.

"Takato?" Renamon asked. "Yeah, what do I look like, Guilmon?" Takato replied. "Oh, come here you!" Renamon said happily. Takato and Renamon embraced in a loving hug, happy to be reunited. They stood there for what felt like hours, tears flowing down their faces. Finally, in reality only ten minutes later, they separated. The other tamers welcomed Takato back happily, but Tyler was a bit less ecstatic than the others.

"Tyler, you look down. What's wrong?" Takato asked. "With you back, I'm a tamer without a Digimon." Tyler replied. Takato frowned in realization. "You're right…" he said. Suddenly, hus face lit up like a light bulb. "I have the perfect solution Tyler!" he exclaimed. "Guys, meet up at the park outside of Guilmon's cave this afternoon." he said. Everyone nodded.

Later that afternoon, everyone met by Guilmon's cave as planned. Takato walked up to the cave, and shouted Guilmon's name inside. The red dino Digimon came running out, and glomped Takato. "Takatomon." Guilmon said, hugging him. "It's nice to see you too buddy." Takato replied, chuckling.

"So, what's your big idea Takato?" Tyler asked. "Well, Tyler's a tamer without a Digimon, and because of my transformation, Guilmon is a Digimon without a tamer. I propose that we make Guilmon Tyler's partner." Takato explained. Everyone was shocked that Takato would give up Guilmon. "Are you sure? You and Guilmon are really close." Tyler said. "I'm sure. It's in our best interest, and I couldn't have chosen a better partner for Guilmon myself." Takato said.

With the dilemma settled, Guilmon was registered in Tyler's D-Power as his partner. The two grew closer with time, as did Rika and Ryo, who got together eventually. They're still dating, unlike Takato and Renamon, who got married. That's another story though.


End file.
